


The Expo

by Bam4Me



Series: Antics [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Because they havent happened yet, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, First of a series, Other, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Polyamorous Character, Pre-Poly, Protective Happy, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 21:44:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14411160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bam4Me/pseuds/Bam4Me
Summary: Tony makes a new friend and has a better day after that.





	The Expo

**Author's Note:**

> I s2g if any of you go all 'omfg I thought you left this fandom' I will crawl out of your computer screen like the girl in the ring. Don't do that. I've never left this fandom, I'm allowed to have other fandoms too.
> 
> Also, this has been sitting in my docs nearly completed for about six months now, because I took a dive into the SW fandom and didn't resurface much. Anyways, before I was planning on making this longer but now that I look at it, I don't really need to make it longer, because it's really complete on it's own. Bye. 
> 
> avengersnonsexualageplay.tumblr.com

When Tony Stark first met T’Challa, Prince of Wakanda, he was twenty four. He’d been the head of Stark Industries for two years now.

 

Tony was currently hiding in a back room of the showcase arena of the Stark Expo. Rhodey wasn’t here, he’d been deployed -a fact that was causing Tony no small amount of stress, to be completely honest- and Obie was acting… weird… something was wrong with him, but whenever Tony asked him about it he’d just get all quiet and distract Tony with questions of his own until Tony was too stressed and upset to remember why he’d even cared in the first place.

 

This room was quiet. Relatively soundproof for a random back room while Happy -amazing, loyal, faithful, perfect Happy whom Tony loved with his whole heart because Happy was the only reason he wasn’t having a full blown panic attack right now- stood guard outside to keep the riff raff away.

 

There was a gentle knock on the door, like whoever was on the other side was hoping he wouldn't even hear it , and though Tony couldn’t help but let out a sad little sigh at the quiet being interrupted, he took a second just to breathe, before calling out an answer. “Yeah, Happy?”

 

The door opened up a crack. “There’s a man out here… he says he really wants to speak with you.”

 

Tony hadn’t exactly told Happy he didn’t want to be disturbed. That wasn’t the point of him hiding. He just wanted a quiet room for a little while. The loud noises had been giving him a migraine and he’d been so close to crying, Obie had even had to take over introducing the main event, he was so shaky.

 

If Howard could see him now, he’d probably beat him senseless. Tony let out a little noise of sadness at the thought, wondering if he’d prefer the pain over Obie’s weird coldness that was giving Tony a constant level of background stress right now. The one that’s making him sick to his stomach. At least if he was sick because of Howard, it’d be because of Howard getting a little rough with him after a few drinks. But Obie… Obie was never like that, he was always the gentle one. He never raised his voice at Tony, or hit him. Tony didn’t know why Obie was pulling away now.

 

No, he hadn’t asked for privacy. The reason Tony loved Happy so much wasn’t just because he was a good bodyguard, it was because he was the most stubborn man Tony had ever met in his life. If Happy had been told not to let anyone in, he  _ wouldn’t _ be asking if Tony was willing to talk to guests right now. And for that matter, even then, it would have to be an important guest for Happy to consider asking at all.

 

The man was stubborn, he could stand there all night if he had to. God, Tony loved him so much, he was the only thing keeping Tony’s feet on the ground right now.

 

Tony stood up, wobbly, and headed to the door. Happy was also observant, and though Tony loathed to be seen like this, Happy wouldn’t have asked if it was someone that sort of thing would matter to, because he’s not sure if he can reign in the gut wrenching paranoia and fear twisting his insides up right now.

 

“W-who is it, Hap?”

 

Happy’s voice was gentle. It wasn’t gentle in the way Obie’s was though. Obie’s voice was gentle in a honey sweet sort of way. Sticky and cloying and holding you tight. Happy’s voice was gentle in a way like wrapping up in your favorite blanket right out of the dryer, warm and big and good and  _ safe _ . Tony sort of wanted to ask him to just come hide in the room with him and talk to him until they could leave.

 

“He says he is Prince T’Challa.”

 

“Prince?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Of where?”

 

“...Wakanda.”

 

Tony wracked his brain for a minute but couldn’t put a map to that place. “I’ve never heard of Wakanda.”

 

He sounded almost wondering, and he was half afraid that he was being lied to, that someone was tricking them, but he was half wondering. It’s not often that he doesn’t know something, and that’s not his ego talking either, that’s just a fact, he knew more things than most, and he remembered everything he learned with startling clarity.

 

The idea of not knowing something was… cloying… but different than getting stuck in honey, it was cloying like a child being offered a cookie, if only he’d sit still and be a good boy for it.

 

“That’s what I said too. He said that’s what Wakanda wants the world to think, that they aren’t real.”

 

Tony shook his head, not really understanding. He couldn’t see Happy, though they were separated by inches of door with a crack to speak through. Tony could see lights shining through from the attractions as people had fun on the opening night. There would be seven more nights of this that Tony was expected to stay through. He hopes this room would be empty the whole week, because he’s quickly becoming attached. He couldn’t find the light switch when he first came in, and after a fumble and some panic, had just sat down and tried to breathe. He was quickly becoming used to the darkness too.

 

“If Wakanda doesn’t want the world to know they exist, why tell me?”

 

“I was quite interested in speaking with you of a paper you published last year about body enhancements, both naturally occurring, and medically induced. Your take on the recent raise in metahuman genes needing to be seen as a positive enhancement of the human race, was both refreshing and inspiring to see. I wished to talk to you about that paper personally.”

 

Happy and Tony were both quiet for a moment, though Happy was glaring at the prince for having gotten closer when he’d told him to stay back, though all Tony could think of was that the prince's voice was confidant and deep and… young?

 

He scrambled in the dark for the doorknob and pulled it open, half expecting to see an older man behind it, and was pleasantly surprised when he came to face a man that had to be younger than even Tony himself was.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Hello, Mister Stark.”

 

Tony couldn’t hold back an outright flinch, though instead of telling the man to call him Tony - ‘Call me Tony, please, Mister Stark was my father’ is a line that has never once worked in Tony’s entire life, when all the world seemed to think that comparing him to his father was a  _ compliment _ \- and instead drew his eyes to the ground in silence, all hope of this being a good conversation scratched for the moment.

 

There was a quiet whisper in front of him and Happy -and Happy was sending him those soft concerned looks that meant if Tony was allowed to be away from the expo he’d hold him captive at the mansion all day tomorrow and make him sleep and eat for once, but that wasn’t possible until the end of the week now- and when Tony looked up, the prince was watching him with a genuine look of concern on his face. His bodyguard backed up a foot after the quiet whispering, going back to standing stoic and large, like a bodyguard should. Tony knew that Happy looked angry sometimes too and he vaguely hoped that the prince's bodyguard was secretly a giant teddy bear like Happy was. 

 

It was comforting. Everyone deserved their own teddy bear bodyguard. 

 

“Forgive me, I had forgotten for a moment, your Phd in applied mechanics from MIT. Terribly rude of me to dismiss your rightful title as Doctor. In my home language, the structure of sentences are not as… straightforward as English. I’m afraid many of my words get lost in translation.”

 

Tony didn’t like being called Doctor either, but it was miles ahead of Mister, and it was enough to make his shoulders settle from their tense -sad- position hunched up against his neck. “You speak it quite well, your highness.”

 

“I have been taught since childhood, but seeing as my country is often closed off from the rest of the world, I fear our English is adapted for our use entirely. I would quite prefer if you called me by my name, and not title, if we are to have a professional discussion. I would refer to you as an equal intellectually, just as any scientist I hold in high regard.”

 

Tony perked up a little, for more than one reason, looking a little like an eager puppy for a second. “You do that too! I mean, I, you should call me Tony, I mean. If that’s okay I guess.”

 

T’Challa gave him a smile that made Tony wonder if they had met before, and simultaneously made his heart skip once in his chest, making him just the littlest bit dizzy. “I would be honored. Is there a place would could discuss? Preferably a place with food, seeing as it’s getting quite late and both of us could surely use the sustenance.”

 

Tony just nodded once, looking a little dumb, but didn’t move until Happy gently reached over a good ten seconds later and nudged him in the arm and he stuttered out some bad excuse and started walking in the directions of the vendors.

 

They had a lovely conversation about how metahuman outrage was a phenomena entirely based off of racism and what they could do to stop it as political -and unwillingly political, in Tony’s case- figures in their countries.

 

Tony’s a little bit in love.

 

But that’s not new, Tony’s always been just a little bit in love with anyone he liked. He liked T’Challa.

 

The next day before the show started, the prince came back to see him early enough in the afternoon that Tony was fairly sure he’d probably come to like Tony as well last night, because why else would the man come back just to listen to Tony talk too much?

 

The Stark Expo was a little less unbearable after that. 

**Author's Note:**

> avengersnonsexualageplay.tumblr.com
> 
> Short, but to the point. I've had this series planned out for a hella long time, where Tony is poly af and has a relationship with basically everyone he meets, and also has like four adopted kids, and also a million robots he calls his babies. Rhodey is used to this shit, Happy just sighs whenever Tony makes a new kid, and T'Challa demands to be the person who signs the other half of all the adoption forms cause he's a dork. Get ready for poly antics.


End file.
